Nancy on the Home Front

Best Ever Cheeseburger Soup

Fall has come to Vermont and the weather is much cooler now, it’s the perfect weather for this best ever Cheeseburger Soup! We can’t always enjoy a yummy cheeseburger for lunch instead mix up a batch of this delicious soup. This Cheeseburger Soup is similar to potato soup but even more satisfying. I haven’t tried freezing this soup as it is usually consumed within a day or two! Pair it with a fresh salad and you have a complete dinner.

Best Ever Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:

½ pound ground beef
¾ cup chopped onion
¾ cup shredded carrots
¾ cup diced celery
1 tsp basil
1 tsp dried parsley
4 Tbsp butter (divided)
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced peeled potatoes
¼ cup flour
2 cups (8 oz) process cheese (Velveeta)
1 ½ cups milk
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup sour cream

Directions:

In a saucepan brown the beef; drain and set aside. In the same saucepan sauté onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 Tbsp of butter until the vegetables are tender, about ten minutes. Add broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil and reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt the remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Planting Daffodils

Fall is the time to be planting daffodils! The garden season has come to an end and most of the leaves have already fallen off our trees. The garden chores have been completed, the day lilies and hostas have all been cut back. Hoses and tomato cages have been stored for the winter along with the wheelbarrows.

It’s been a busy fall, but the ground is not frozen yet, and although I’ve usually already gotten my bulbs planted I still have a little time to plant daffodil bulbs. I love scattering the bulbs to create a natural look.

Ideally you should plant your bulbs as soon as you get them. It’s nice to have a sunny day to do your planting. Often I put it off and end up planting on a cold, blustery day. This year I chose a nice sunny day to do my planting. You want to plant the bulbs when your soil can still be worked, this gives the bulbs a chance to develop roots and establish themselves before winter arrives.

The rule of thumb for planting bulbs outdoors is to set them two and a half times deeper than their diameter. For my daffodil bulbs this meant 5-6″ deep. If you want a naturalizing look to your planting, take a few bulbs in your hand, toss them gently on the ground, then plant them where they have fallen.

Dig a hole in the dirt with a trowel for each individual bulb.

Special bulb-planting tools are available at garden centers; they make it easy to dig neat, circular holes. Place the bulb in the hole and cover with dirt. In the spring before growth or flowering begins spread a complete fertilizer over your flowerbeds. The spring rains will carry the fertilizer down into the soil.

Planting bulbs requires patience because you have to wait almost six months before you can enjoy the flowers! Patience is a good virtue to practice, it involves waiting. In our society we want things immediately, which is why so many people have debt problems! If we would learn to wait and save for something we want rather than “buy now, pay later” we would be much better off financially! Even stocking your party requires patience. A pantry does not become a well-stocked pantry overnight. It takes months of careful planning and preparation, which is a good rule to live our life by!

So I will be patient, the bulbs are planted and I will wait to enjoy their beauty. I will look forward to the daffodil blooms come spring. If by chance our home sells before the spring the new owners will have beautiful daffodils to enjoy!

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; 
it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. 
Gertrude Jekyll

Four Weeks Till Thanksgiving

Only four weeks till Thanksgiving! Does the thought of the approaching holidays leave you breathless? Is it your turn to host the thanksgiving meal this year? Do you feel like there is just not enough time to get ready? What can you do to be ready for the day?

Years ago I read an article that had several steps that would help you to be ready for Thanksgiving. I wrote a few notes down on an index card, placed it in with my recipes and have used the advice every year since then. Even though you only have four weeks till Thanksgiving with these ten simple steps you too can be ready for the big day.

About a month before Thanksgiving compile a guest list. Figure out who’s coming for dinner and if anyone has any sort of food allergy.
Have your guests help out by contributing a dish or a dessert. Be specific, ask your aunt to bring her wonderful creamed onions or your sister to bring her delicious cherry pie for example. Tell everyone you’ll do the turkey and let your guests bring the sides. Once everyone has decided what they are going to bring you can fill in the missing items.
Purchase your turkey at least 3-4 weeks ahead of the big day. If you’re ordering a fresh bird you can do that 2-3 weeks in advance.
Prepare and assemble any dishes ahead of time. Baked goods and pie crusts can be prepared ahead of time and placed in the freezer.
The Saturday before Thanksgiving shop for your perishable food. Get out your china, serving dishes and serving utensils.
The Monday before Thanksgiving put the frozen turkey in the refrigerator to thaw. If making your stuffing from scratch cut bread into cubes and put in a plastic bag.
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving cook, peel and mash sweet potatoes, cover and refrigerate. Chop your onions and celery for the stuffing and refrigerate.
The day before Thanksgiving prepare your stuffing and refrigerate. Cook the giblet broth for the gravy. Prepare your cranberry molds and refrigerate. Make your creamed onions. If you can, set the table and arrange the centerpiece. Bake your pies.
On the big day add your liquid to the stuffing and stuff your turkey. Start roasting the turkey so it will be done 30 minutes before you plan to eat. Make sure you have a few light appetizers set out for your guests. Having a few nibbles will help tide everyone over until dinner is ready.
Remember what Thanksgiving is all about. It’s not about the turkey or the special dessert, but who is gathered around your table. Be thankful for your family and friends and enjoy the day!

Pumpkin Icebox Cake

Several years ago I saw this recipe for a pumpkin icebox cake. We have always enjoyed my mother-in-law’s Surprise Cake and this recipe was very similar but made with pumpkin! It is a very easy, no bake recipe, which makes a delicious, fall dessert.

It’s pretty from the top and even prettier when you cut a slice! I’ve made it several times and it is always a big hit. It would be perfect for your Thanksgiving Table, a twist on the traditional pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Chocolate Icebox Cake

Serves 12 (depending on the size piece!)

Ingredients:

3 packages (8oz ea.) of cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice1 teaspoon vanilla extract

28 chocolate graham cracker sheets (12 oz. total)

Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Beat cream cheese and sugars in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Then beat in pumpkin, half-and-half, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Lay enough graham crackers in a 9- by 9-in. pan to cover bottom (cut to fit if necessary). Spread a quarter of pumpkin mixture over crackers with an offset spatula.

Layer 3 more times, ending with pumpkin mixture. Cover; chill overnight. Set leaf cutouts (trace them on paper) on top and dust with cocoa, and then remove.

Cut cake into squares and serve.

Saving Gete okosomin seeds

Saving Gete okosomin seeds is very simple, like any winter squash in which you plan to save the seeds the squash must be grown to full maturity, which is best determined by examining the stem of the fruit. A squash that is ready for harvest when the fruit’s stem changes from green to brown or yellow. Although mature, squash at this stage still contain large amounts of water and should be placed in a cool, dry location with good ventilation until completely dry.

I harvested the only two Gete okosomin squash I had and allowed them to sit in our cool garage. After a month I decided it was time to cut them open and access the number of seeds. I was pleasantly surprised! I did not expect to find any mature seeds in my small squash but there were about a hundred seeds that all look viable.

You may have read my post last week that my harvest was not what I expected. There were just too many gardening challenges this year, voles and chipmunks creating damage in the garden and a wide spread drought! Unfortunately my yield was only two squash, much less than I expected from three plants! Perhaps I’ll have better luck next year saving Gete okosomin seeds!

Unlike tomato and cucumber seeds, which require fermentation, the seeds of the Gete okosomin do not require fermentation. The seeds only need to be separated from the pulp and allowed to air dry.

Once the squash were cut open I removed the seeds and separated them from the pulp the best I could. The seeds were then paced on a paper towel and allowed to air dry. Once the seeds are dry I will store them in a jar. I have about 100 seeds to share. Not nearly enough to fill all the hundreds of requests I’ve had but I will be contacting the folks that requested seeds and work my way down the list until I run out of seeds!

To read more about my Gete okosomin harvest click HERE.

If you are interested in learning more about saving your own seeds I highly recommend the book Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth.

Saving Cucumber Seeds

This summer I grew some amazing heirloom cucumbers and I was interested in saving cucumber seeds. The cucumber seeds were called Athens and they were true to their description. About 9 inches long, this uniformly slender slicer has smooth, deep dark green skin, dense, firm, crisp flesh and a small seed cavity. Very productive over a long season on vines that want support.

There was one cucumber that didn’t get picked while we were away so I let it stay on the vine. Cucumbers that are being saved for seed must be grown to full maturity and allowed to ripen past the edible stage. The cucumber will be large and beginning to soften. Depending on the variety the fruits may change from green to white or deep yellow or orange. My cucumber was soft and yellow!

Carefully cut open the cucumber and scoop the seeds into a large bowl. Each cucumber seed is encased in a gelatinous sack that is most easily removed by fermenting the seeds. Add about as much water as seeds but not too much or fermentation will be slowed. Set the bowl away from sunlight in a protected location to ferment. Depending on the temperature, fermentation will take from one to three days. During this time the aromas coming from the bowl will be less than pleasant and some mold may form over the top of the mixture. Stir the mass twice a day. Fermentation is complete when most of the seeds have settled to the bottom of the bowl and the seedcases are floating on top of the mixture.

Stir the mass while adding as much water as possible, this allows the clean seeds to settle to the bottom. The debris and hollow seeds will float and can be gently poured off with the excess water. Repeat this procedure until only clean seeds remain.

Pour the clean seeds into a strainer, wipe the bottom of the strainer with a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible and dump the seeds on a cookie sheet or other non- stick surface. Allow the seeds to dry. Cucumber seed will remain viable for ten years when stored under ideal conditions. Saving cucumber seeds is quite easy and now I now I will have seeds to plant next year.

Simple Salads: Pear and Bleu Cheese

Lately I’ve been sharing a lot of simple soups, today I share one of our favorite simple salads. I love salad but I don’t necessarily like to make salads. So when I find a simple salad that is easy to make and tastes delicious it’s a winner in my book! I don’t know if you’ve ever made your own candied nuts but they are a wonderful addition to this salad. You can read more about making your own candied nuts HERE. If you don’t want to make your own I’ve seen candied nuts for sale in the grocery store. Either way they are a wonderful addition to this salad. Pear and Blue Cheese Salad is a perfect fall salad and I’ve even served it with our Christmas dinner before. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Pear and Bleu Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

1 head of spinach or about 10 oz of fresh salad greens
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 pears, thinly sliced
½ cup blue cheese, crumbled
½ cup candied pecans or walnuts
1 avocado, cubed (optional)
¼ cup dried cranberries (optional)

Dressing:

¼ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
⅓ cup mayonnaise
¾ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground pepper

Before you assemble the salad make the dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a bender. Mix up the dressing ingredients ahead of time. This will make putting the salad together even quicker.

To put the salad together layer the greens, thinly sliced onion, sliced pears, blue cheese and, pecans. Add avocado or dried cranberries as desired. Pour over the salad just before serving. Serve and enjoy.

For an easy dinner serve this salad with one of the simples soups I shared recently; Irish Yellow Broth, Chicken Pot Pie Soup or Butternut Squash Soup would all pair perfectly with this salad.

Harvest Failure: Gete Okosomin

Harvest failure is always a possibility when you garden. Many of you have been following along with my adventure with the Gete okosomin squash seeds I received last year in South Dakota! I was given 9 of these ancient heirloom seeds with the hopes of growing a small harvest and be able to share seeds with my readers.

Knowing our home was on the market and could sell at anytime I only planted four of the nine seeds I was given. Of the four seeds only three sprouted and did extremely well at first. Unfortunately we had several things going against us this year. Our garden was overrun with chipmunks and voles. The voles were especially destructive chewing off numerous plant stems and digging tunnels everywhere. We also experienced a drought this summer. While normally this isn’t a problem as we have a deep well and plenty of water to keep the garden well irrigated. However we had a granddaughter arriving in August, at the height of the growing season. When I left for Seattle the garden was doing well, it was also used to getting well watered each day. During the two weeks we were gone the garden was not watered and it suffered. When I returned home there was only one squash plant alive and even that was suffering. Insects had burrowed into the stem which limited the amount of water going to the growing squash. One of the growing squash also was suffering from some sort of end rot.I have never had such a dismal harvest before. Usually when I grow winter squash or pumpkins I have more than enough. Not this year. I was only able to harvest two small squash plants. Certainly there are not enough seeds to supply the hundreds of people that have written me requesting seeds.

However I now have about 100 viable seeds which I am willing to share. I plan to contact the folks that wrote me first and work my way down the list sharing the seeds I have. Hopefully next year I will have a better crop and will have more seeds to share.

In gardening you are never guaranteed a harvest. Perhaps next year these seeds will be available commercially by another grower. If not I do plan to try again and may have some seeds to share next fall. Hopefully my next harvest will produce mature squash with plenty of seeds and I will not experience a crop failure again.

Knitting Pumpkin Hats

I recently spent several weeks knitting pumpkin hats. As you know our grandchildren were just here for a ten-day visit. I started knitting a pumpkin hat for my two-month-old granddaughter. It went so quickly I decided that knitting hats for my other grandchildren was in order. My husband thought the hats were so cute he asked for one as well. By the time I was finished I had completed four adorable hats.

I found the pattern online at the website SimpleJill.com. You can download the pattern HERE. I have seen similar patterns elsewhere but Jillbert’s pattern caught my eye and I immediately found some yarn to complete the project.

The pattern was easy to read and not difficult at all. I purchase two skeins of yarn one a sage green and the other orange. I was able to knit four hats and nearly used up all the yarn! I was able to knit the hats while watching TV or driving in the car. In fact I worked on my husband’s hat on the way to the airport to pick up our two daughters and grandchildren!

I followed the pattern for knitting a newborn size and two child size hats. For my husband’s I adapted the pattern to fit his larger size head! Jilbert has some cute photos on her website. Here are the directions:

Pumpkin Hat Pattern

Size: newborn, (baby, toddler, child)

Gauge: 5 stitches/inch

Needles: size 6 (4mm) double pointed or 16″ circular or magic loop

Yarn: worsted weight in orange & a small amount of green

Always test your gauge — depending on the yarn, I’ve made this hat with needle sizes

that range from size 5 to size 7.

Cast on 64 (72, 80, 88) stitches. Mark your starting point and join in the round and knit

9 rows of stockinette stitch (knit every row). On the 10th row, knit into the back of each

stitch. This marks where the brim ends and helps keep the brim from continuing to roll

upwards.

Starting with the 11th row, knit every row until the hat measures 4.5″ (5″, 5.5″, 6.25″).

Start decreasing by knitting 2 together (K2tog), then knitting 6 stitches. Repeat all the

way around.

The next row, K2tog, K 5, repeat, all the way around.

Then K2tog, K4, repeat, all the way around.

Then K2tog, K3, repeat, all the way around.

Then K2tog, K2, repeat, all the way around.

Switch to your green yarn at this point.

Continue decreasing by K2tog, K1, repeat for the round.

Then, K2tog all the way around. You should have 8 (9, 10, 11) stitches left. Continue

these stitches in the round for an inch or so to form the stem. Finally, K2tog for one

round. You may have an odd stitch left over. That is OK. Cut the yarn and thread the

tail through the stitches.

We managed to get several pictures of everyone and looking at the pictures I think my husband had the most fun! It was a wonderful day at the Woodstock Farmer’s Market picking our fall pumpkins!

Exploring Vermont with Our Grandchildren

Exploring Vermont with our grandchildren was such fun. Recently we were blessed to have our two daughters and three grandchildren visit us for ten days. Having three children ages, 5, 3 and two months under our roof was exhausting, but I wouldn’t have traded the time for anything. It gave us the opportunity to do some exploring with our grandchildren and show them the things we love about Vermont. It was also peak foliage so it was the perfect time for them to visit.

Our grandchildren live in the Pacific Northwest and they are not used to having backyards with no fences. Running around our large yard was a pure delight. The first outing was to climb Mt Tom in Woodstock, Vermont. My husband drew a scavenger hunt of items to look for. In addition to finding the maple leaves and salamanders we also found beautiful spider webs and exquisite fall foliage.

I also introduced our older two grandchildren to picking and shelling dried beans.

My granddaughter was lucky enough to find one last remaining carrot in the garden. I think it is so important to introduce children to gardening and where our food comes from.

We also took a ride in the gondola to the top of Killington Mountain. The day was spectacular and you could see forever.

I think the highlight of the visit was picking out pumpkins at our local farmers market. I had knit pumpkin hats for everyone including my husband!

It was wasn’t easy but we managed to get a great shot of them all wearing pumpkin hats while at the same time entertaining everyone with our photo shoot!

One of the last full days we had we drove down the road to a neighbors farm. The farm itself is absolutely breathtaking but the grandchildren had more fun just running around.

They also enjoyed feeding the sheep and the alpacas! Not a normal sight in the city of Portland!

Our house is much quieter now; I miss the sweet scenes between the cousins.

I also miss the lively conversations at the breakfast table.I am so thankful for this time we had with our daughter’s and our grandchildren. Exploring Vermont with our grandchildren was amazing. Such fun to see everything through their eyes. Our desire is to sell our home and relocate to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to our children. Eventually it will happen and we look forward to creating another home front on the west coast!